Three main families of major soluble proteins, the alpha, beta and gamma crystallins, are ubiquitously expressed in vertebrate lenses. This gene encodes a member of the gamma-crystallin family of proteins which may function as a structural component of the eye lens. Gamma-crystallins are a homogeneous group of highly symmetrical, monomeric proteins typically lacking connecting peptides and terminal extensions. They are differentially regulated after early development. Five gamma-crystallin genes (gamma-A through gamma-E) are tandemly organized in a genomic segment as a gene cluster in the mouse. Another gamma-crystallin gene (gamma-F) is found some distance upstream of the cluster on the same chromosome. Whether due to aging or mutations in specific genes, gamma-crystallins have been involved in cataract formation. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]